This letter was sent to the Governor and the leadership of the Maryland General Assembly on April 4, 2014. Copies were also forwarded to the US DOJ. Office of the Lt. Governor for Maryland Mr. Anthony Brown 100 State Circle Annapolis, Concerned Marylanders 21401 Greetings; It is with regret that I must request the immediate resignation of Lieutenant Governor for Maryland Anthony Brown and the remaining named and unnamed members of Board of Trustees for the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Organization, the MHBEO relating to the massive failure of the program, which to this date has cost the People of Maryland over $200,000,000. This is an outrageous amount of taxpayer money that has not just been grossly mismanaged, no. It is alleged that corrupt and criminal activity exists concerning the program’s online exchange. The People of this State deserve answers and the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, the office directed by the Governor to oversee the planning and implementation of Maryland’s online healthcare exchange program, is now obstructing justice in the investigations relating to this matter. As you know, the People of Maryland bear the brunt of the costs of incompetent and ineffective leadership like this. Maryland deserves better representation and as a means to providing the People precisely that, we cannot afford to wait until the upcoming gubernatorial election to resolve this matter. The People’s financial interests are at stake and we no longer have the confidence in your administration that is sufficient enough to ensure the sustainability of the healthcare exchange program, as directed by the Lieutenant Governor. His incompetence in leadership can be sufficiently judged solely on this very issue alone. It is the People’s understanding that the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Organization is governed by a nine-member Board of Trustees (Board) consisting of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Joshua M. Sharfstein, the Maryland Insurance Commissioner Therese M. Goldsmith, the Executive Director of the Maryland Health Care Commission, and six members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Board appoints an Executive Director of the MHBEO, who serves at the pleasure of the Board. The Governor designates the Chair of the Board. The Board is required to create and consult with advisory committees and appoint to the advisory committees representatives of specified organizations. The MHBEO is subject to numerous State laws including adoption of regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act, access to public records, open meetings, immunity and liability of State personnel, public ethics, procurement laws for minority business participation and policies for exempt units, and whistleblower and certain provisions of State personnel law. However, MHBEO is exempt from State or local taxation and specified provisions of procurement law, although the Board is required to have an open and transparent procurement process. The Executive Director is authorized to hire staff that is not subject to State actions governing compensation, including furloughs, pay cuts, or any other general fund cost savings measure. This process has been anything but transparent. It has been reported that legislative auditors were thwarted from a meaningful review of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange because of redactions or the withholding of key documents and the procurement documents that were provided to auditors were redacted to such an extent they could not determine the propriety of the awards, including the basis for selecting successful vendors. A report by the Office of Legislative Audits highlighted the attempts by the MHBEO to obstruct justice after a review of more than 14,500 pages of records covering the period between March 25, 2010 and January 29, 2014. On April 1, 2014, the Governor’s Office announced that the State was replacing the troubled exchange website with one similar to the one designed for the State of Connecticut. That company, Deloitte, stands to make an additional $50,000,000 of Maryland Taxpayer money in making the transition. While Republican leaders in the General Assembly have called for the hiring of an independent investigator with subpoena power, Democrats have been alleged to resist these demands because they assert that the intent is purely political, due to the upcoming gubernatorial election and the Lieutenant Governor’s responsibility for the failures of the program. I wish him luck in his bid to be elected Governor with having to run with this issue following him around. Lieutenant Governor Brown and you have put Party before People yet again and that can no longer be the focus. Faithfully executing the laws of the State of Maryland is the purpose of the Governor’s Office, and thus by extension, it is the purpose of the Lieutenant Governor’s Office to assist you. For the reasons detailed herein, it is the demand of the majority of the People of this State that you take the appropriate action necessary to faithfully execute the laws of Maryland and submit charges against Lieutenant Governor Brown to the Grand Jury for a criminal investigation into the matter. I remain,
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 00:06:38 +0000
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